walterbyrd writes: "Can you patent a rectangle with rounded corners? Absolutely. And Apple has done it again. On Tuesday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted the company a design patent for the original iPad. ..Design patents cover only external appearance. The design must be “ornamental” (purely aesthetic) and not serve a practical function. ..Apple originally filed the patent, U.S. Patent no. D670,286, in December of 2010. . . Importantly, though, Apple would not be able to use this patent against Samsung and its Galaxy Tab in future litigation. ..“The Samsung Galaxy doesn’t have a center bottom circle, it doesn’t have a camera in the top center, and although its back panel slopes to meet the front, the angle of that slope is different,” Shaver said. “Most importantly, the Galaxy tablet is very differently proportioned from an iPad in its height and width.”"